Xiayan Chicken

Xiayan Chicken

The Xiayan Chicken is a protected geographical indication product.

　　The Xiayan Chicken is a meat-type breed. It has a short, round body with a full abdomen, broad chest, and deep chest cavity similar in width to the pelvis, giving it a square-shaped silhouette. Male Xiayan Chickens have yellowish-red feathers, with neck feathers darker than those on the chest and back. Their primary and secondary wing feathers feature black or white spots, and some males exhibit very faint horizontal stripes on their saddle and sickle feathers. The tail feathers are underdeveloped. Sexually mature males typically have red skin on the abdomen, while females have yellow feathers. They possess a single comb, with both wattles and earlobes being bright red. The iris is orange-red. The base of the beak is dark brown, the tip light yellow, the shanks yellow or white, and the skin either yellow or white.

　　Originally called Xiayan Chicken, it is also known as the Fattened Breed Chicken.

　　It is mainly produced in areas near the Guangdong-Guangxi border, such as Jingkou, Jintong, and An'e in Xinyi County, as well as Shizhai and Yangmei in Rong County, Guangxi. The Xiayan Chicken is one variety of the "Three-Yellow Chicken" group. In addition to having yellow feet, yellow beaks, and yellow feathers, each foot also has a fleshy spur. Since this chicken was first widely raised in Xiayan, it became commonly known as the "Xiayan Chicken," a name that has been used for over two hundred years.

　　Breed

　　　　The Xiayan Chicken is a meat-type breed. It has a short, round body with a full abdomen, broad chest, and deep chest cavity similar in width to the pelvis, giving it a square-shaped silhouette. Male Xiayan Chickens have yellowish-red feathers, with neck feathers darker than those on the chest and back. Their primary and secondary wing feathers feature black or white spots, and some males exhibit very faint horizontal stripes on their saddle and sickle feathers. The tail feathers are underdeveloped. Sexually mature males typically have red skin on the abdomen, while females have yellow feathers. They possess a single comb, with both wattles and earlobes being bright red. The iris is orange-red. The base of the beak is dark brown, the tip light yellow, the shanks yellow or white, and the skin either yellow or white. Adult Xiayan Chicken weights are: males 2500 grams, females 1800 grams. Slaughter rates at 180 days: semi-eviscerated, males 82.4%, females 87.9%; fully eviscerated, males 69.2%, females 81.2%. Caponized chickens: semi-eviscerated 84.8%, fully eviscerated 74.0%. Xiayan Chickens begin laying eggs at 170–180 days of age, producing 140–150 eggs per year, each weighing 44 grams with a light brown shell.

　　Characteristics

　　　　Its characteristics include tolerance to coarse feed, fast growth, strong disease resistance, large size, and tender, sweet, juicy, flavorful meat with crispy skin. The Xiayan Chicken features tender and fatty meat, fine and soft bones, and a deliciously sweet taste. Its greatest advantage is rapid growth on basic feed without the need for specialized fattening. This breed is highly adaptable and can be raised through free-range family farming, as well as in pens or cages. Typically, after about one hundred days of feeding, ready-to-cook chickens can exceed 2.5 jin (1.25 kg), capons over 3.5 jin (1.75 kg), and the largest can reach 7–8 jin (3.5–4 kg), often with full chests, ample meat, rich tail fat, and full, brightly colored plumage.

　　Breed Characteristics

　　　　The Xiayan Chicken has a short, round body with a full abdomen, broad chest, and deep chest cavity similar in width to the pelvis, resulting in an overall square-shaped appearance typical of meat breeds. Chicks are mainly covered in dark yellow down, with yellow beaks and yellow or white shanks. Adult chickens have relatively large heads and a single comb. Their wattles and earlobes are bright red. The iris is orange-red. The base of the beak is dark brown, the tip light yellow. The neck appears thick and short, with slightly loose feathers. The skeleton is sturdy. Skin color is either white or yellow. Roosters have yellowish-red feathers, with neck feathers darker than those on the chest and back. Their primary and secondary wing feathers feature black or white spots, and some males show very faint horizontal stripes on their saddle and sickle feathers. The tail feathers are underdeveloped. Sexually mature roosters often have red skin on the abdomen. Hens have yellow feathers. Their backs are flat, chests broad, keels slightly short, and abdomens full. Hens nearing egg-laying maturity typically have a space between the pubic bones and the end of the keel wide enough to accommodate three fingers, which is a key characteristic of this breed.

　　Breed Performance

　　　　Adult Xiayan Chicken weights, body oblique lengths, chest widths, chest depths, and shank lengths are as follows: males average 2178.00±45.69 grams, 19.73±0 cm, 9.10±0.11 cm, 9.49±0.17 cm, and 10.81±0.09 cm respectively; females average 1915.00±18.25 grams, 17.69±0.07 cm, 7.90±0.04 cm, 8.59±0.06 cm, and 8.79±0.03 cm. The meat quality of Xiayan Chicken is excellent, with delicious flavor related to intramuscular fat deposition. Subcutaneous fat contributes to the tenderness of boiled or white-cut meat cuts, especially in capons where well-developed muscle fat leads to an attractive carcass and tender meat, making it highly popular with consumers. Under normal feeding conditions, hens begin laying eggs around 170–180 days of age. Annual egg production varies with feed conditions: typically around 80 eggs in rural households, and approximately 110 eggs in selected flocks. Average egg weight is 43.6 grams, with shells in light brown. Xiayan Chickens are larger in size, with yellow feathers and a plump build, but have low fertility and slow feathering.

　　The protected geographical indication area for Xiayan Chicken covers the entire administrative region of Rong County, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

　　The geographical indication product protection area for Xaiyan Chicken covers the current administrative region of Rong County, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.